I didn't see a thread on this in the film lounge, so I thought I'd make one. This is a place to discuss your favorite directors, maybe post interviews and things that make you admire that director so much. I'll start by listing a few of my favorites:

Weird, but I don't really have a favorite director, I like/love some movies by some directors, but not a huge fan of the work of one of them
If anyone, I might consider Sam Raimi, cause of my childhood shows like Hercules the Legendary Journeys and its spinoff series

"I've known since I first took over the series that I wanted to eventually have someone else pick up the hammer," says the writer. "It's kind of a time-honored Thor tradition at this point, isn't it? Going back to the days of Beta Ray Bill."

Edward Yang -- a poet of the city, whose films build up slowly but inexorably, analyzing their characters and their interrelationships minutely, patiently building tapestries made of nuance that are always more than the sum of their parts. Standouts: Yi Yi, A Brighter Summer Day, Taipei Story.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien - another leading director of the New Taiwan cinema movement, both as a historian (his trilogy, consisting of A City of Sadness, The Puppetmaster, and Good Men, Good Women) and as a chronicler of ordinary life in transition (Millennium Mambo, Three Times, Goodbye South Goodbye). Stunning cinematography, films that demand but reward patience as you watch private and public moments accumulate into the most intense cinematic experiences.

Terrence Malick -- one of the few directors dedicated to trying to touch the ineffable. Standouts: Days of Heaven, The Tree of Life, The Thin Red Line.

Tian Zhuangzhuang -- Fifth Generation director who criticisms of Communism has landed him in trouble with the government again and again. But his masterpiece The Blue Kite, his remake of Springtime in a Small Town, and his first major film September combine the most searching dramas of family life with the larger political contexts that help shape them in all sorts of damaging ways.

Park Chan-wook -- His Vengeance Trilogy, Thirst, and Joint Security Area are superb thriller classics. The kind of rollercoaster rides Hollywood always tries to provide and usually fails to.

Kim Ji-woon -- masterpieces in the Western (The Good, the Bad, and the Weird) horror (A Tale of Two Sisters) thriller/suspense (I Saw the Devil) black comedy (The Quiet Family), crime drama (A Bittersweet Life).

Akira Kurosawa -- introduced the world (or the parts that weren't already aware) to Japanese cinema. Directed maybe the greatest action film ever (Seven Samurai), the best Shakespeare adaptations (Throne of Blood, Ran), maybe the best film about a doctor ever made (Red Beard), two of the best crime films (Stray Dogs, High and Low, arguably Rashomon), and on and on. Dominated whatever genre he decided to.

Steven Spielberg -- defined cinema for generations of American filmgoers. Even with Star Wars, without Raiders, Jaws, Close Encounters, E.T., Poltergeist, Jurassic Park, not to mention the things he's produced, movies would not look the same today, for better or worse. They just wouldn't.

Hayao Miyazaki -- the best animator the world has ever produced (Walt Disney being a close second). Puts pure enchantment on film with nary a misstep. Standouts -- Spirited Away, Mononoke-Hime, Castle in the Sky, Castle of Cagliostro. All engrossing adventure stories that never, ever grow tired no matter how many times you see them. Of today's other animators, only Pixar and Brad Bird are on his level, and only when they're firing on all cylinders.

Hayao Miyazaki -- the best animator the world has ever produced (Walt Disney being a close second). Puts pure enchantment on film with nary a misstep. Standouts -- Spirited Away, Mononoke-Hime, Castle in the Sky, Castle of Cagliostro. All engrossing adventure stories that never, ever grow tired no matter how many times you see them. Of today's other animators, only Pixar and Brad Bird are on his level, and only when they're firing on all cylinders.

-The Coen brothers are my #1 pick. Their movies have everything I could possibly want--compelling drama, smart humor, deep characters and themes, entertaining plots, great acting performances, and stunning visuals. A majority of their movies is great or better, and the rest are at good at the very least. They also hold special importance for me because they were the first filmmakers who made me look at films more in-depth.

-Quentin Tarantino was the next director I got really into. Pulp Fiction ties Fargo for the "movie that made the biggest impact on the way I looked at movies" award, and most of his other ones are great too. Every new movie he comes out with feels bold in a different way than the ones before it, though I do agree he's played out revenge themes at this point. I'll still look forward to whatever he makes next.

-Wes Anderson doesn't get enough credit. I feel like he's mostly known for quirkiness, but his films are so much more than that. They have so much genuine emotion beneath the jokes, and there are so many great character moments and funny lines to catch on repeat viewings. Except for Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I just loved immediately, I've liked every Anderson movie more the second time I saw it.

-Alexander Payne is the most underrated director today. Rarely do I get big laughs and emotionally hard-hitting scenes in the same movie, but Payne does it again and again. His characters always feel very realistic and well-developed. Many of them are not initially likable but become relatable as their stories progress; and it works great every time.

-I love Woody Allen's brand of humor and I have a certain appreciation for his cynicism, which often leads to stories that challenge conventional audience expectations. His "earlier funny movies" are hilarious, and his more "mature" ones are very thought-provoking. He has a few movies that might have benefitted from a little less cynicism, and some of his movies are overly similar to each other, but there's still a wealth of good times to be had with Allen. I've seen more of his films than any other director.

-Among classic directors, I think Alfred Hitchcock makes the most entertaining movies. They're both masterful from an artistic standpoint and extremely fun to watch. Most of the ones I've seen did not feel dated at all, and several (especially Vertigo and Rope) really pushed the boundaries of the classic Hollywood era.

-Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. I'm tired of typing, so I'll just say that the sheer volume of great movies these two have made--and in a wide variety of genres--is incredible.

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- "As chance would have it, I have won the Pulitzer Prize, and so I am qualified. Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks."--Roger Ebert

My favourite director of all time is Alfred Hitchcock, an innovator, an amazing eye for shot compisition, a great visual story teller (he could build story and character out of the simplist approach). A great technical director too, he knew what he wanted and how to build the scene and frame a shot beautifully.

His only 'let down', he was not an actor's director, he understood his characters very well, just not the people playing them sadly.